Moving in response to an unseen visual stimulus.

Objective: Whether consciousness has a causal role in voluntary movements is not clear. Backward masking blocks a stimulus from becoming conscious, but it can trigger movement in a reaction time paradigm. We hypothesize that if backward masking is used in a choice reaction time paradigm, when the visible stimulus (S2) differs from the masked stimulus (S1), the movement will often differ from conscious intent.

Prevalence of anxiety and depression risk during the prepartum period in the different groups of women and responses from the Italian National Health Service.

Background: Specific screening for anxiety and depression in pregnant women is important to identify those at risk and to provide timely intervention. The aims of the study were: 1) to compare the risk of anxiety and depression in four groups of pregnant women belonging to four types of healthcare centers distinguished by the level of risk: at low-risk; at high-risk for an obstetric reason; at high-risk for fetal anomalies; at high-risk for psychiatric conditions and 2) to identify the response that the National Health Service offers to women positively screened for anxiety and depression.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2801 pregnant women, cared for by National Health Service, divided into four groups: 1) low-risk pregnancy (N.

Physiological and introspective antecedents of tics and movements in adults with tic disorders.

Objective: To investigate the subjective phenomenon and the neural underpinnings of tics compared with voluntary movements in patients with tic disorders.

Methods: We recorded electroencephalographic and electromyographic data while subjects completed a Libet clock paradigm. Patients and healthy volunteers reported the times of W (willing to move) and M (movement occurrence) while performing voluntary movements.

What is the intention to move and when does it occur?

In 1983 Benjamin Libet and colleagues published a paper apparently challenging the view that the conscious intention to move precedes the brain's preparation for movement. The experiment initiated debates about the nature of intention, the neurophysiology of movement, and philosophical and legal understanding of free will and moral responsibility. Here we review the concept of "conscious intention" and attempts to measure its timing.

Stacked autoencoders as new models for an accurate Alzheimer's disease classification support using resting-state EEG and MRI measurements.

Objective: This retrospective and exploratory study tested the accuracy of artificial neural networks (ANNs) at detecting Alzheimer's disease patients with dementia (ADD) based on input variables extracted from resting-state electroencephalogram (rsEEG), structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) or both.

Methods: For the classification exercise, the ANNs had two architectures that included stacked (autoencoding) hidden layers recreating input data in the output. The classification was based on LORETA source estimates from rsEEG activity recorded with 10-20 montage system (19 electrodes) and standard sMRI variables in 89 ADD and 45 healthy control participants taken from a national database.

Timing of the Sense of Volition in Patients With Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenic patients often do not have the sense that they direct their own movements or author their own thoughts (passivity phenomena). As willing must precede movement to be causal and thus generate the sense of agency, it is possible that the timing between the senses of willing and movement is shortened in schizophrenia. We tested the subjective perception of this time interval in patients with schizophrenia using a method based on Libet's paradigm, in which subjects specify a time W - the time of willing a movement - and a time M - the time that movement occurred.

Effects of twelve weeks' aerobic training on motor cortex excitability.

Background: Regular physical activity or aerobic exercise is well known to increase brain plasticity. Recent studies have reported that aerobic exercise enhances neuroplasticity and motor learning. The aim of this study was to investigate if 12 weeks' aerobic training can modify cortical excitability and motor evoked potential (MEP) responses.

Abnormal cortical neural synchronization mechanisms in quiet wakefulness are related to motor deficits, cognitive symptoms, and visual hallucinations in Parkinson's disease patients: an electroencephalographic study.

Compared with Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) shows peculiar clinical manifestations related to vigilance (i.e., executive cognitive deficits and visual hallucinations) that may be reflected in resting-state electroencephalographic rhythms.

Physical Activity as a New Tool to Evaluate the Response to Omalizumab and Mepolizumab in Severe Asthmatic Patients: A Pilot Study.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease, representing one of the most severe pathologies in developed countries. Based on a report of the World Health Organization (WHO), it affects about 300 million people worldwide. Few studies have analyzed the effects of daily life physical activity (PA) levels in patients with asthma: moreover, little research has been carried out on PA levels in patients suffering from severe asthma (SA).

Corrigendum: Football Players Do Not Show "Neural Efficiency" in Cortical Activity Related to Visuospatial Information Processing During Football Scenes: An EEG Mapping Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.

Heart rate variability reduction is related to a high amount of visceral adiposity in healthy young women.

Several heart rate variability (HRV) studies show abnormalities in autonomic nervous control in obese and overweight subjects. However, some of the results appear to be controversial. Here we investigate the HRV profile in seventy adult normotensive women and its association with general and visceral adiposity.

Football Players Do Not Show "Neural Efficiency" in Cortical Activity Related to Visuospatial Information Processing During Football Scenes: An EEG Mapping Study.

This study tested the hypothesis of cortical neural efficiency (i.e., reduced brain activation in experts) in the visuospatial information processing related to football (soccer) scenes in football players.

Abnormalities of functional cortical source connectivity of resting-state electroencephalographic alpha rhythms are similar in patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's and Lewy body diseases.

Previous evidence has shown different resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalographic delta (<4 Hz) and alpha (8-10.5 Hz) source connectivity in subjects with dementia due to Alzheimer's (ADD) and Lewy body (DLB) diseases. The present study tested if the same differences may be observed in the prodromal stages of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Levodopa may affect cortical excitability in Parkinson's disease patients with cognitive deficits as revealed by reduced activity of cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic rhythms.

We hypothesized that dopamine neuromodulation might affect cortical excitability in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients set in quiet wakefulness, as revealed by resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms at alpha frequencies (8-12 Hz). Clinical and rsEEG rhythms in PD with dementia (N = 35), PD with mild cognitive impairment (N = 50), PD with normal cognition (N = 35), and normal (N = 50) older adults were available from an international archive. Cortical rsEEG sources were estimated by exact low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography.

Different Abnormalities of Cortical Neural Synchronization Mechanisms in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's and Chronic Kidney Diseases: An EEG Study.

This study tested whether resting state alpha rhythms (8-13 Hz) may characterize mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (ADMCI) compared with MCI due to chronic kidney disease (CKDMCI). Clinical and resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms from 40 ADMCI, 29 CKDMCI, and 45 cognitively normal elderly (Nold) subjects were available in a national archive. Age, gender, and education were matched in the three groups, and Mini-Mental State Evaluation (MMSE) score was paired in the ADMCI and CKDMCI groups.

Stress Profile in Remotely Piloted Aircraft Crewmembers During 2 h Operating Mission.

Emotional stability plays a key role in individual and team performance during both routine activities and management of unexpected emergencies. Using a psycho-physiological approach, the stress response was investigated in drone operators in service. Salivary α-amylase (sAA), galvanic skin response (GSR) and anxiety were assessed over a 2-h operating flight.

Functional cortical source connectivity of resting state electroencephalographic alpha rhythms shows similar abnormalities in patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that markers of functional cortical source connectivity of resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms may be abnormal in subjects with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's (ADMCI) and Parkinson's (PDMCI) diseases compared to healthy elderly subjects (Nold).

Methods: rsEEG data had been collected in ADMCI, PDMCI, and Nold subjects (N = 75 for any group). eLORETA freeware estimated functional lagged linear connectivity (LLC) from rsEEG cortical sources.

Abnormalities of Resting State Cortical EEG Rhythms in Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment Due to Alzheimer's and Lewy Body Diseases.

The present study tested the hypothesis that cortical sources of resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms reveal different abnormalities in cortical neural synchronization in groups of patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (ADMCI) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLBMCI) as compared to cognitively normal elderly (Nold) subjects. Clinical and rsEEG data in 30 ADMCI, 23 DLBMCI, and 30 Nold subjects were available in an international archive. Age, gender, and education were carefully matched in the three groups.

Maternal Stress and Coping Strategies in Developmental Dyslexia: An Italian Multicenter Study.

Background: Studies about the impact of developmental dyslexia (DD) on parenting are scarce. Our investigation aimed to assess maternal stress levels and mothers' copying styles in a population of dyslexic children.

Methods: A total of 874 children (500 boys, 374 girls; mean age 8.

Role of Sex Hormones in the Control of Vegetative and Metabolic Functions of Middle-Aged Women.

In women's life, menopause is characterized by significant physiological changes often associated with an increase in body mass and obesity-associated sicknesses. Numerous researches described interdependencies of estrogen deficiency, aging, and resting energy expenditure (REE) downfall in the obesity correlated with the menopause. The aim of this study was to determining whether healthy, obese menopausal women underwent HRT treatment, showed changes in their REE, autonomic asset, and assessment of oxidative stress in comparison with obese pre- and post-menopausal women.

Predictive value of very low frequency at spectral analysis among patients with unexplained syncope assessed by head-up tilt testing.

Background: The role of heart rate variability (HRV) in the prediction of vasovagal syncope during head-up tilt testing (HUTt) is unclear.

Aim: To evaluate the ability of the spectral components of HRV at rest to predict vasovagal syncope among patients with unexplained syncope referred for HUTt.

Methods: Twenty-six consecutive patients with unexplained syncope were enrolled in the study.